The Martyrdom of the Saints as Life in Christ and the Overcoming of Death (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Martyrdom of the Saints as Life in Christ and the Overcoming of Death 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

(Transcribed sermon delivered on the feast of Saint Christopher, in Agrinio, on 9 May 2024)

Your Eminence Metropolitan of the Sacred Metropolis of Aetolia and Acarnania, Damaskenos, beloved holy Hierarchs in Christ, honorable Presbyterate, Diaconate of Christ, most honorable civil authorities, blessed and chosen people of the Lord.

First of all, I would like to express my warmest thanks to your Eminence, your shepherd and our beloved brother in Christ, Damaskenos, who invited me to come to this city on the day when its patron saint, Saint Christopher, is celebrated. It is in this city that, as Your Eminence mentioned both yesterday and today, I grew up and laid the foundations for my later development in ecclesiastical life and, of course, in my theological formation.

I give thanks to God because in this city, besides completing my secondary studies, I came to know the then-Protosyngellos, Archimandrite Kallinikos Poulos, who, when he was elected Metropolitan of Edessa, Pella, and Almopia, invited me to join him, and I remained with him for fifteen years. Now he is a Saint of our Church, and to him I owe very much — indeed, the whole ecclesiastical and theological life which God counted me worthy to live within the Church.

Holy Great Martyr Christopher in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

It has often been said that the study of the lives of the saints is among the most important readings for the spiritual growth of Christians. And this is because their life is the embodiment of the Gospel, the practical confirmation of what the word of God bears witness to. What we see in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself — within Whom His word was the expression of His life and His life was the commentary on His word — in the same way, to a certain degree, we also see in our saints. And especially in those moments when they offer even their very life as a sacrifice for the love of God. From this point of view, the heroic struggles of the saints, the martyrdoms they endured, and the manner in which they faced them become for the faithful a means by which they receive the grace of God. That is, the very grace which strengthened the saints in their martyrdoms, the grace that enabled them to endure and transcend their sufferings, this same grace is poured also into the faithful when with faith and love they come into contact with what the martyrs suffered for the sake of the Lord. And this means that a Christian who does not study the lives of our saints deprives himself of a special grace that the Lord offers to the world. This truth is already pointed out by the Holy Hymnographer in the very first sticheron of Vespers: “Come, let us honor the struggles of Christopher, through whom there gushes forth to us the everlasting grace of Christ the Giver of life.” Therefore his statement is not an exaggeration when he says that “Your memorial, O martyr, gives forth fragrance mightily, like spring roses, through the much-enduring sufferings of your struggles” (Sticheron of Vespers).

Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (St. Basil the Great)

 

The full English translation of St. Basil the Great's Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah by Nikolai A. Lipatov (published by Edition Cicero in 2001, 441 pages) is a scholarly translation that can be accessed through Academia.edu (see here). The translator has also argued on the genuine authenticity of the authorship of St. Basil for this commentary (see here), which was doubted in the West for centuries.

“…As for the Scriptural passages about which you enquire, we were much surprised that an explanation was requested from us, the unlearned, and about such expressions which properly should be elucidated only by men inspired by God. Such interpretations have already been produced by them, and above all - the detailed interpretation by the Great and divine Basil. So, when you take the book of his commentary on Isaiah, you will learn the things about which you enquire. Otherwise their consideration, which requires a whole treatise, would go beyond the limits of a letter."

St. Theodore of Studion, from the Letter to Hegoumenos Auxentios

May: Day 9: Teaching 2: Translation of the Honorable Relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

May: Day 9: Teaching 2:
Translation of the Honorable Relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
 
(On Mercy Toward the Poor)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. From the great host of God’s holy servants glorified by the Church, Saint Nicholas enjoys a special love among the Russian people. Many churches have been built in his honor throughout Holy Rus’; his memory is celebrated twice a year, on December 6 and May 9, and besides this, throughout the year, together with the apostles, he is commemorated in the church services every Thursday. His very name is dear to the Orthodox Russian people and therefore is often found in Christian families — not only in the humble hut, but even upon the royal throne. Which of his many virtues attracts Orthodox Christians to him? Knowing that we turn to God and His saints for help in our spiritual and bodily needs, and especially often direct our prayers to those saints who showed many works of mercy toward the suffering, we must acknowledge that the outstanding virtue of Saint Nicholas was “his mercy toward the needy.” The Holy Church, in her hymns, glorifies him as the feeder of the hungry, the excellent guide of those storm-tossed at sea, and the swift helper of all who are in troubles and sorrows. And indeed, the whole life of Saint Nicholas presents an unbroken series of benefactions rendered by him to suffering humanity. But not only during his life — even after death he did not cease to do good to those who turn to him with prayers. His very tomb became a source of healings for those suffering in soul and body. The many wonderworking icons of him found in different places throughout our vast homeland are nothing other than visible and indestructible memorials of his mercy toward the Christian race. In this respect Saint Nicholas appears as the good and faithful servant of our Lord, fulfilling one of the chief commandments of the Master and Lord concerning mercy toward one’s neighbors.

Prologue in Sermons: May 9

The Holy Servants of God Show Special Love and Mercy To Those Who Honor Their Holy Memory

May 9

(The Miracle of Saint Nicholas and the Carpet)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

All of us, brethren, know that the holy servants of God, being especially close to God, do not cease, even after their departure into the heavenly world, to intercede for us before God and to ask grace and mercy for us all. Enlightened by the light of the face of God, the saints of God see us and know what feelings and desires we have toward them. Therefore, without doubt, they become loving protectors, defenders, and helpers especially to those among us who cherish a special love for them, who pray to them with special zeal, and who honor the days of their commemoration. This is not difficult to prove by examples, for there are many such examples in the lives of the saints. Let us take one such example for our instruction.

There lived in Constantinople a certain pious craftsman named Nicholas, who had a fervent love for Saint Nicholas and always honored his feast days with special devotion. When old age came upon this man, and he was no longer able to work, he fell into poverty. Once, during this period of his life, as the feast of the Saint approached, Nicholas became deeply troubled: how would he celebrate the feast? He shared his sorrow with his wife, and she answered him:

Homily for the Commemoration of the Apostle John the Theologian (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily for the Commemoration of the Apostle John the Theologian 

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

I congratulate you on the day of the memory of the Apostle John the Theologian — the apostle of love, a very mysterious apostle. Today his feast is connected neither with his death nor with some missionary labor of his, but with those events that took place at the tomb of John the Theologian in Ephesus up until the very beginning of the twentieth century. It was an annual miracle that occurred precisely on this very day.

On the eighth of May, a rose-colored dust would yearly appear upon the empty tomb of John the Theologian, and this dust healed many sick people. One could say that it was a regular miracle, like the miracle of the Holy Fire. The Church even established a feast in honor of this event.

If we look closely at the mysterious image of Saint John, we will see a mystery. The apostolic age is coming to an end — the close of the first century and the beginning of the second. Most of the apostles — eleven out of the twelve — have already been executed for the name of the Lord. Most of the Seventy Apostles have also been executed. By that time the Apostle John remains the only living witness of the Risen Christ.

May: Day 8: Teaching 2: Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian

May: Day 8: Teaching 2:
Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian
 
(Examples of how Christians depart from the law of Christian love, and the necessity of living according to its spirit.)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. What shall we say to you, brethren, on today’s feast? The beloved disciple of the Lord — the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, whose memory we celebrate today — spoke more than anything else during his apostolic ministry about love. Therefore let us also speak today about love.

II. You yourselves know very well that the Lord commanded us to love God and then all people, and said that upon these two commandments rests the whole law (Matt. 22:40). You know that only he who has love toward all is a true Christian (John 13:35). You also know that without love one cannot inherit eternal life, for “he who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14); that “without love all gifts profit nothing to those who possess them,” as John Chrysostom says; and that without it all our good deeds mean nothing (1 Cor. 13:3).

You know this, you have heard it many times, and you yourselves reason that it would be good if all loved one another; you yourselves realize that we must love others. But unfortunately, all this is mostly only in words and not in deeds. In words we love, but in deeds — in deeds we are far from love.

Prologue in Sermons: May 8

One Must Not Seek Out Persecution

May 8

(A Word of Saint Peter of Alexandria. Prologue for May 7. From the Paterikon)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

People of bad character and spiritual pride, unable to live peacefully with those around them, imagine themselves to be martyrs worthy of a martyr’s crown. What a pitiful delusion!

A person who constantly irritates others and brings troubles upon himself certainly suffers sorrows and hardships — but who is to blame for them if not he himself? Yet such a person says to everyone:

“To be saved, one must suffer — and I suffer; therefore I am a martyr.”

And everywhere he stirs up quarrels and discord, making life bitter both for others and for himself. Is there any meaning in seeking sufferings in this way? Is it pleasing to God? Will the sufferings of such a person have any value in the eyes of God?

Without doubt, no.

THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PASCHA - SUNDAY OF THE PARALYTIC

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

The Healing of the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool

There was in Jerusalem a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, that is, House of Mercy. It was remarkable because an Angel of the Lord descended into it from time to time and stirred the water; and the sick person who entered the pool first after the Angel would immediately be healed, whatever his illness might be.

Once Jesus Christ was in Jerusalem during the feast of Passover. Passing by the pool, He saw a multitude of sick people lying around it. There were the lame, the blind, the withered; each one waited for the moment when the Angel would stir the water, so that he might be the first to enter it. Among the other sick there was one man who had lain paralyzed for thirty-eight years. The Savior saw him, had compassion on him, and said to him: “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered Him: “Yes, Lord, but I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred; for while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him: “Rise, take up your bed, and walk” (cf. John 5:6–8). The man was immediately healed, took up his bed, and walked away. The Jews who were there became indignant and said to the healed man that he ought not to carry his bed, because it was a feast day.